Exploitation Specialist / Data Manager

Riverside Overview Riverside Research is an independent National Security Nonprofit dedicated to research and development in the national interest. We provide high-end technical services, research and development, and prototype solutions to some of the country’s most challenging technical problems. All Riverside Research opportunities require U.S. Citizenship.

Position Overview

Riverside Research is seeking an experienced Exploitation Specialist / Data Manager to provide advanced exploitation support, lead data management workflows, and drive mission-critical GEOINT production. This senior role combines deep tradecraft expertise with technical leadership, ensuring analytic teams have fast, reliable access to high-quality datasets and exploitation-ready imagery. The ideal candidate excels at structuring large data ecosystems, enhancing exploitation pipelines, mentoring junior staff, and partnering directly with DoD and Intelligence Community stakeholders.

Responsibilities

Lead the management, organization, and curation of large, multi‑sensor GEOINT datasets, including SAR, EO, IR, multispectral, and specialized collections

Oversee structured data workflows, enforce metadata standards, and ensure consistent lineage and traceability across analytic products

Perform advanced exploitation tasks, generating high-quality products such as change detection, feature extraction, environmental assessments, and multi-sensor fusion outputs

Supervise and optimize mission data workflows, identifying inefficiencies and implementing improved processing, cataloging, and automation techniques

Conduct data-quality validation, anomaly resolution, and compliance checks against DoD and IC standards

Guide developers and engineering partners on data requirements, exploitation impacts, and collection strategy optimization

Lead the development, documentation, and refinement of SOPs for exploitation, cataloging, ingestion, and multi-mission data management

Mentor junior analysts and data managers, providing technical direction and tradecraft instruction

Prepare mission briefings, status reports, and technical documentation for senior leadership and external stakeholders

Ensure timely delivery of high-value datasets and exploitation support to ongoing operations and long-term analytic missions

Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree or higher in Data Management, Remote Sensing, Geography, Image Science, a related field or equivalent experience

7+ years of GEOINT data management, imagery exploitation, or related analytical experience

Demonstrated expertise in cataloging, metadata standards, and structured GEOINT data ecosystems

Hands-on experience with exploitation tools (ENVI/IDL, ArcGIS, QGIS, ERDAS, or similar)

Proficiency in workflow automation or scripting (Python preferred)

Proven ability to lead technical tasks, mentor junior personnel, and engage with senior stakeholders

Strong understanding of IC/DoD production standards, data policies, and mission priorities

Active TS/SCI clearance

Desired Qualifications

Experience managing large-scale data environments within DoD or IC operations

Familiarity with SAR and EO exploitation workflows

Experience with database systems, cloud-based data environments, or data-governance frameworks

Knowledge of ML/AI-assisted data categorization or exploitation tools

Excellent communication skills and ability to lead cross-functional teams

Global Comp 000000.00-000000.00 This represents the typical compensation range for this position based on experience, location and other factors.

Closing Statement Riverside Research Institute is a not-for-profit, technology-oriented defense company, where service to our customers and support of our staff is our overall mission. Riverside is an affirmative action-equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws regarding recruitment and hiring. Riverside offers comprehensive compensation and benefit packages to our employees. Riverside bases its employment decisions solely on technical experience, qualifications and other job-related criteria related to our organizational purpose as a not-for-profit company, and without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex marital status, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran’s status or any other status legally protected by applicable federal, state, and local law.